The Cooldown: Week 13
District races are starting to wrap up in 5A and 6A while the small schools advance to round three of the playoffs. Here is our weekly recap and look-ahead to next weeks’ action.
Tomball Memorial stays atop 15-6A
There’s a reason district 15-6A is one of my favorites; it’s basically unpredictable every single week. Somehow, Tomball Memorial has made it to this point of the season unscathed… but just barely.
The Marwill-Manjack duo lit the turf on fire again for Memorial. Marwill finished with 328 yards and four touchdowns on 20-for-32 passing – though he also threw two picks – and added 37 yards on the ground. Manjack hauled in eight of those passes for 180 yards and two scores.
Klein Collins had plenty of chances to win this one. The Tigers found themselves up 42-27 in the fourth quarter before a Memorial touchdown, defensive stop, another touchdown and a two-point conversion tied the game. With a minute left, Collins marched right down the field and missed a field goal as time expired.
Then, Memorial struck first in overtime. When Collins answered, the Tigers decided we weren’t getting a second overtime. Collins decided to go for two and it failed, meaning Memorial all but wrapped up the 15-6A title, which they can clinch outright this week.
Cy Park wins, heads to playoffs for first time ever
Cypress Park has won two more games in 2020 than it did in the previous two seasons combined, and it still has a game left to play… how un-2020 of them!
The Tigers picked up a 42-29 win against Langham Creek to clinch their first-ever playoff spot, and they did it in a way we rarely see anymore: Cy Park finished with just five passing yards. They won this game on the backbone of 475 rushing yards as a team. Cameron King carried 20 times for 213 yards and two scores while Harold Perkins went for 181 yards and four scores on 13 carries. And the best news for Cy Park? Both of those guys are juniors and will be back next year.
Langham Creek put up some good numbers on offense as well. Seth Johnson completed an impressive 19 of his 25 passes for 227 yards and a touchdown, though two of those incompletions found the hands of Cy Park defenders. Jaquaize Pettaway did most of the damage at wide out, catching eight balls for 123 yards and a touchdown. Jayden Landry was the leading rusher with 25 carries going for 199 yards and three scores.
The Lobos slip to 3-4 in district play, leaving them in fifth place in a talented district. The 16-6A playoff picture is set; Bridgeland is the district champion, followed by Cy Ranch, Cy Woods and Cy Park. Despite a 10-2 season in 2019, Cy Falls will miss the playoffs with a district record of 2-4.
So, what's left for small schools?
It’s not looking great for the Houston area in the 4A-and-below ranks.
Huffman-Hargrave is Houston’s best hope to make a state championship among small schools. The Falcons blew out Brazosport 42-12 last week and advance to face Kilgore, who knocked out El Campo last week. If Huffman can win 4A DI Region III, they would still have to get past the winner of an excellent Corpus Christi Miller squad and Calallen to get to the state championship.
Bellville fell to Salado in 4A Division II action, leaving Sealy as the last remaining Houston squad in those playoffs. Sealy will face China Spring in round three, but even if the Tigers can get past China Spring, defending state champion Carthage is waiting in round four.
Columbus stands a chance in 3A Division I, but they’ll face a talented Yoakum squad this week. Columbus is the last Houston area team standing in 3A DI, but representing the right side of the bracket at state isn’t out of the question. Hallettsville is the favorite to make it to state from the right side of the bracket, and Columbus wound face them in round four.
The only remaining Houston area squad below 3A Division I is Ganado in 2A Division I. The three other teams left in the Region IV bracket are all state powerhouses: Shiner, Mason and Refugio. Ganado has already lost to Shiner this season, 57-0. So, in conclusion, Huffman-Hargrave is Houston’s last hope for a state title appearance in the small school ranks, with an outside shot at Columbus.
Other Notable Games from Week 13
Here are some of the other games that caught my eye last week. I can’t recap them all in this post, but some of these other games deserve some mention too.
- Clear Creek survives rally from Terry for 36-34 win
- Austin picks up its first win in its last game of the season in a thriller, 33-32 over Clements
- North Shore beats C.E. King 47-21 to set up titanic showdown with Atascocita for the 21-6A title
- Tompkins clinches share of 19-6A title with 56-21 win over Mayde Creek
- Dawson deals Shadow Creek its first-ever district loss to clinch 23-6A title with 31-28 win in overtime
- West Brook survives shootout with Summer Creek 54-48
- Clear Springs ends Dickinson’s reign as district as district champs in 24-6A with 28-12 win against Clear Brook
- College Park impresses against Oak Ridge in 35-7 win
- Ridge Point re-gains 20-6A title with 27-21 win against Travis
- Paetow secures final playoff spot in 10-5A DI with 38-14 win against Angleton; Wildcats eliminated
- Friendswood wins points-fest against Ball, 63-60
- Bellville, El Campo eliminated; Huffman-Hargrave and Sealy advance
What to Watch for: Week 14
Folks, this is one of the best football weekends of the year. There’s nothing like post-Thanksgiving football (or regular Thanksgiving football if you’re Dumas and Springtown) and we get more of it this year than normal.
Every 5A and 6A school has a chance to know what it’s like to play on the day after Thanksgiving, a treat usually reserved for third round playoff participants only. I’m excited for it and I hope y’all are too because we have some good games this week. Y’all (safely) enjoy family time on Thursday and get out to a few games this weekend!
- Spring looks to lock up sole possession of a district title against MacArthur
- West Brook and C.E. King battle for playoff positioning at the back end of 21-6A
- Oak Ridge and Grand Oaks fight for a playoff spot
- Bridgeland and Cy-Fair face off in a non-district battle of district champs
- Foster faces off against Travis in a 5A-6A non-district matchup
- State ranked North Shore and Atascocita battle for the 21-6A title
- Klein Oak looks to deal Tomball Memorial its first loss
- The Woodlands and College Park battle as the last undefeated teams in district play, looking for 13-6A title
- Hightower battles Paetow for 10-5A DI seeding
- Magnolia looks to clinch a share of the 8-5A DI title against Porter
- Huffman-Hargrave takes on Kilgore in round three action in 4A DI
- Sealy battles China Spring in 4A DII
- Columbus looks to keep its season alive against Yoakum in 3A DI